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The New York Giants had announced earlier today that they planned to waive kicker Brandon McManus. But prior to the 4:00 PM EST deadline that would have made McManus subject to waivers, the Denver Broncos swooped in and acquired him via trade for a conditional 7th round pick.

McManus, who had a very strong preseason with the Giants and gave Josh Brown a very competitive kicking competition, ended up losing out to Brown for the job, but since Denver was in need of a kicker with Matt Prater's situation, they decided to make the deal with the Giants to get an up and coming kid whose shown he has a very strong leg.

Prater will have to serve a four-game suspension at the beginning of the 2014 season for violating their substance abuse policy, and thus, why Denver gave up the conditional draft pick to get McManus.

Prater will be back with the Broncos for Week 5, so it's not clear what Denver will do once he returns from his suspension, but for the time being, McManus will be a starting kicker for the AFC Champions come Week 1 of the regular season and will be in a stadium that bodes well for kickers since the air is thin from the climate and longer field goals tend to go through.

With Brown being re-signed for a second season with the Giants, it was a longshot that the undrafted rookie kicker would make the Giants, but he sure gave it his best shot and while he didn't make the Giants, he quickly got a chance to make another team because of his strong performance.

If we could get that much an UDFA agent who’s never played in a real game that shows his value. Prater might be done in Denver. We made a really really bad move by not going with this kid. You can find a Josh Brown level kicker on the street. I don’t feel like going with the kid was much risk. It’s a shame but at least we get some value for him.

I can see the distance record going – I thought I read that he almost hit a 70 yarder here so imagine what can do in Denver ? At least , he wont be a local threat ( Philly ? ) and any long field goals will be put down as Denvers rarified air .And the Giants get a (conditional) 7th round pick . Maybe they can turn THAT into an All- Pro tight end from south east Central college

fanfor55years says: August 26, 2014 at 3:01 PM I don’t know what they’re going to do about IR and all that, but Beckham’s absence in the early part of the season has to improve the chances of Jernigan (I assume they will move Cruz outside until Beckham returns, unless they’re going to take a chance with Washington early in the season, and if Cruz moves outside Jernigan is the slot receiver) and probably puts Talley on the practice squad. I’m guessing that McAdoo is begging them to keep Holliday so he has the X-factor that he lost with the retirement of Wilson. If he wins that argument then Parker is probably also ticketed to the practice team.

I just don’t see any scenario in which Jernigan gets cut at this point. Until Beckham returns he’s absolutely needed. I say he gets this season to prove worthy of another contract.

So, Cruz, Randle, Beckham, Washington, Jernigan and ?. Does Holliday, if he’s kept, replace a running back or a wide receiver? If a wide receiver then Parker goes to the practice squad and Manningham is either IR’d or released. If Parker is kept then do they also keep Holliday in lieu of the fourth running back? Or does McAdoo give up on Holliday and he’s quite justifiably cut and Parker makes it as a returner/wide receiver. Lots of permutations here.

Reply BigBlueGiant says: August 26, 2014 at 3:05 PM anyway you look at it… Not too happy with the WR situation.

Reply GOAT56 says: August 26, 2014 at 3:16 PM You don’t keep both Parker and Holiday. Jernigan’s competition is Manningham. I’m surprised they didn’t cut MM to give him time to try to catch on with another team.

I doubt Holiday makes it. Parker has some wiggle but the key is he seems very secure in catching the ball. Holiday isn’t a ball safe PR and I think he was always in trouble here.

Reply fanfor55years says: August 26, 2014 at 3:30 PM I really don’t want Holliday, but I just have a feeling that McAdoo may be looking for someone who can threaten defenses with speed and without Beckham that’s really only Cruz. That was a big role that Wilson was going to play, and his absence is going to be more painful than most realize yet.

Without another speed threat defenses are going to again blanket Cruz and render him relatively ineffective. And those defenses can play eight in the box and hurt the run game too. Add Holliday (which, again, I am not advocating) and you add another speed threat and just maybe loosen up the defense. At this point McAdoo may be grasping at straws. He’s seeing a lot of his plan go up in smoke.

I think the real replacement for Wilson’s skills is on someone else’s roster. I think 1 RB on our 53 will be from another team. The Skins have several players in Thompson, Redd and Seastrunk that fit that skill set alone.

this roster looks worse by the day last year we were the 5th worse offense scoring a meager 18.4 points per game (inclusive of defensive scores) this year we could be a <17ppg team

no TEs; ragged WR corps made worse by management decisions; struggling o-line that may or may not gel at some point; starting QB whose skill set is not ideal for this type of offense and who has struggled throughout preseason

Actually, I suspect they’re going to go with just three running backs (Jennings, Williams and Hillis) because I think the other two are pretty lousy and equivalents can be signed off the street if they need one down the road.

My personal prediction at wide receiver if I had to make one is that it’s Cruz, Randle, Beckham, Washington, Jernigan and Parker. I wish I thought Manningham would make it but I can’t see it.

Someone whom no one is paying attention to but WILL make the roster is Reynolds. He can play all three inside positions and isn’t bad. And just for you folks who hate him, I’ll bet Brewer makes the roster too, if only because he has done okay as an extra blocker on the outside and because they just won’t give up on him at this point when he could still develop.

And someone earlier said that either Herzlich or Paysinger makes the roster. Why? I’m assuming both do. Herzlich is tremendous on special teams, but Paysinger contributes there too, and quite well. And Paysinger is a solid, steady linebacker who needs to be on the team. I think he’s #5 on the depth chart but Herzlich, at #6, makes it too.

And as I look at these awful tight ends I have to conclude that the veteran who makes it is the one who blocks best. That’s Davis. At least he can help the running game. But boy do I hope a decent tight end gets cut by someone else so we can sign him.

As for McManus, glad we got something for him. Stand by for the news item that he kicked a 70-yard field goal to win a game.

The fact that we have won two superbowls, in the last 7 years (more than any other team), with a 5th rounder in 2007 and an UDFA in 2011, undermine your argument. I think we all need to be reminded that there is a salary cap. The salary cap means that you can not have top-level (expensive) talent at every position. Also, given the injury rate on this team (one of the highest injury rates in the league over the last 7 years), and the number of holes that we have had to fill due to those aforementioned injuries, we do not have the luxury to spend cap dollars or draft picks on a TE. Especially, when considering the production that we have received from those low value guys has been average at worst. If we decide to invest in a big-name TE it means that we have to take resources from another position such as CB. Now what is more important CB or TE? I go CB evertime.

Nah, the next game is Thursday. Painter will probably get the majority of snaps. It’s an audition for him in a quest for a backup spot elsewhere. I think they may be doing him a favor because without a good showing in that game he’d have received absolutely no bites at all.

And anyway, they probably don’t want Nassib exposed when they have the third-string O-line in there. They got a glimmer of what they’ve got in him over the past few weeks. That’s a valuable asset to protect.

There are a ton of 2nd and 3rd string QBs that were released by every other team this week…keeping Painter a little while longer won’t have any negative effect on him getting another job. If anything it could increase his chances with another QB needy team. We know Nassib will make the team and there’s no way the team will carry 3 QBs…so now Painter basically gets to audition for another team that will be scouring the scrap heap for a back up. If he plays well another team could get noticed; if he were to just be cut right now then what has he done to distance himself between the mass of backups that were just cut?

I find it hard to believe that a 2013 All Pro G is on that big of a decline. We’re talking All Pro here not Pro Bowl. Completely different. Guy is still a run blocking wrecking machine. He may not be the best G in the NFL anymore, but he smokes what we have, and what Reese has done with 4th round picks in the past.

Listening to Mike and mike , the kicker for the Patriots was the tight end they got since they werent sure about how quickly Gronkowski was going to be back . Now , with that in mind ,and the state of the Giants Tight ends , does ANYBODY think that the Giants had anything to offer the Patriots ?

Don’t be silly. EVERY deal that gets done by anyone else should have been done by us. Never mind that we didn’t have a tight end worth spit to offer and that paying Mankins $6MM would have made absolutely no sense in the greater scheme of things.

I suppose we should also go get Andre Johnson now since we could use a #1 receiver. Maybe we can get him for a #2 pick and figure out a way to manage the cap despite paying him a fortune. I’m sure his GM is just awaiting Jerry’s call.

This isn’t a knock on turkish. It’s a lament that everyone tends to think that our GM is an idiot who should have figured out how to get every decent player out there for the Giants. Fact is, while Reese has made mistakes just as everyone else does (you should read what folks in Baltimore are saying about “the best GM in football” these days…I know because a good friend of mine is a fanatic Ravens fan and says “Newsome has to go!”), he has been right a lot more than wrong. I like the way things are stacking up for the future. I think we are doing what most say is impossible: rebuilding on the fly while hoping the job can get done before we lose a franchise quarterback who we know can win the big games that most quarterbacks cannot.